Wikipedia:Today's featured article/July 2024

Today's featured article archive

July 1

The Flag of Canada is a red flag with a white square in its centre, featuring a stylized 11-pointed red maple leaf. It has become the predominant and most recognizable national symbol of Canada. It was adopted in 1965 to replace the Union Flag for most official purposes, although the Canadian Red Ensign had also been unofficially used since the 1860s and approved by a 1945 Order in Council. In 1964, Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson appointed a committee to resolve the issue, sparking a serious debate about a flag change. Out of three choices, the maple leaf design by George Stanley, based on the flag of the Royal Military College of Canada, was chosen. The flag made its first appearance on February 15, 1965, a date now celebrated annually as National Flag of Canada Day. Other flags, usually containing the maple leaf motif in some fashion, have been created for use by Canadian officials, government bodies, and military forces. (Full article...)

Recently featured:

July 2

Portrait of Thomas Cranmer in 1545

Thomas Cranmer was a leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury. He helped build the case for the annulment of Henry VIII's marriage to Catherine of Aragon, a cause of the separation of the English Church from the Holy See. He established the first doctrinal and liturgical structures of the Church of England and published the Exhortation and Litany. When Edward VI was king, Cranmer published the Book of Common Prayer, changed doctrine or discipline in several areas, and promulgated the new doctrines through the Homilies. Upon the accession Mary I, Cranmer was put on trial for treason and heresy. While imprisoned he made several recantations and reconciled himself with the Catholic Church. Mary wanted him executed, so he was burned at the stake and withdrew his recantations. Cranmer's death was immortalised in Foxe's Book of Martyrs and his legacy continues through the Book of Common Prayer and the Thirty-Nine Articles. (Full article...)

Recently featured:

July 3

The Goldeneye estate, where the book was written

On Her Majesty's Secret Service is the tenth novel and eleventh book in Ian Fleming's James Bond series. First published in 1963, the novel centres on Bond's search to find Ernst Stavro Blofeld after the events depicted in Thunderball (1961). Bond falls in love with Tracy di Vicenzo during the story. The pair marry, but hours afterwards, Blofeld and his partner, Irma Bunt, attack them, killing Tracy. Fleming developed Bond's character within the book, showing an emotional side that was not previously present. The novel is one of three Bond stories to deal with the disruption of markets and the economy, in this case Blofeld's planned disruption to the food supply by bioterrorism. The novel received broadly positive reviews. In 1969 it was adapted as the sixth film in the Eon Productions James Bond film series and was the only film to star George Lazenby as Bond. (This article is part of a featured topic: Ian Fleming's James Bond novels and short stories.)

Recently featured:

July 4

The Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, within New York City. The copper statue, a gift to the U.S. from the people of France, was designed by French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi and its metal framework was built by Gustave Eiffel. The statue was dedicated on October 28, 1886. (Full article...)

Recently featured:

July 5

Bradley in 2001

Ed Bradley (1941–2006) was an American broadcast journalist best known for reporting with 60 Minutes and CBS News. Bradley started his television news career in 1971 as a stringer for CBS at the Paris Peace Accords. He won Alfred I. duPont and George Polk awards for his coverage of the Vietnam War and the Cambodian Civil War. Returning to the United States, he became CBS's first Black White House correspondent. Bradley joined 60 Minutes in 1981 and reported on more than 500 stories with the program during his career, the most of any of his colleagues. Known for his fashion sense and disarming demeanor, Bradley's reporting won numerous journalism awards and been credited with prompting federal investigations into psychiatric hospitals, lowering the cost of drugs used to treat AIDS, and ensuring that the accused in the Duke lacrosse case received a fair trial. He died of lymphocytic leukemia in 2006. (Full article...)

Recently featured:

July 6

Taylor Swift on the Eras Tour

"Wildest Dreams" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift; it is the fifth single from her fifth studio album, 1989 (2014). (This article is part of a featured topic: 1989 (Taylor Swift album).)

Recently featured:

July 7

Dave Grossman, who led the design of the game

Tales of Monkey Island is a graphic adventure video game developed by Telltale Games under license from LucasArts. It is the fifth game in the Monkey Island series, released a decade after the previous installment. The game was released in five episodic segments between July and December 2009. Players assume the role of Guybrush Threepwood who releases a voodoo pox and seeks a cure. The game was conceived in late 2008 due to renewed interest in adventure game development within LucasArts. Production began in early 2009, led by Dave Grossman (pictured). It received generally positive reviews, with praise for the game's story, writing, humor, voice acting and characterization. Complaints focused on the quality of the game's puzzle design, a weak supporting cast in the early chapters, and the game's control system. Tales of Monkey Island garnered several industry awards and was Telltale's most commercially successful project until Back to the Future: The Game. (Full article...)

Recently featured:

July 8

Peter Weller in 2016

RoboCop is a 1987 American science fiction action film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner. (Full article...)

Recently featured:

July 9

An oceanic whitetip shark swimming near a diver

The oceanic whitetip shark is a large pelagic requiem shark inhabiting tropical and warm temperate seas. It has a stocky body with long, white-tipped, rounded fins. The species is typically solitary, though they may gather in large numbers at food concentrations. Bony fish and cephalopods are the main components of its diet. Females give live birth after a gestation period of nine to twelve months. Though slow-moving, it is opportunistic and aggressive, reputed to be dangerous to shipwreck survivors. Up to the 16th century, mariners noted that this species was the most common ship-following shark. The IUCN Red List considers the species to be Critically Endangered, with a decline in every ocean region they inhabit. Recent studies show steeply declining populations as they are harvested for their fins and meat. As with other shark species, the whitetip faces mounting fishing pressure throughout its range. (Full article...)

Recently featured:

July 10

Gill, c. 1910s

DeLancey W. Gill (1859–1940) was an American drafter, landscape painter, and photographer. When he was a teenager, rather than travelling west with his mother and stepfather, he moved in with an aunt in Washington, D.C. Here, he eventually found himself employed as an architectural draftsman for the Treasury. He created sketches and watercolor paintings of the capital city, with a particular focus on the still-undeveloped rural and poorer areas of the district. While working as an illustrator for the Smithsonian's Bureau of American Ethnology in the 1890s, he was appointed as the agency's photographer without prior photographic training. He took portrait photographs of thousands of Native American delegates to Washington, including notable figures such as Chief Joseph and Geronimo. Although his photographs widely circulated, they have come under modern criticism for his frequent use of props and clothing given to Native American delegates, at times outdated or from a different tribe. (Full article...)

July 11

Slayer's drummer Dave Lombardo

Still Reigning is a live performance DVD by the thrash metal band Slayer, released in 2004 through American Recordings. Filmed at the Augusta Civic Center on July 11, 2004, the performance showcases Slayer's 1986 album, Reign in Blood, played in its entirety with the four original band members on a set resembling their 1986 "Reign in Pain" tour. Still Reigning was voted "best live DVD" by the readers of Revolver magazine, and received gold certification in 2005. In the finale, the band is covered in stage blood while performing the song "Raining Blood", leading to a demanding mixing process plagued by production and technical difficulties. The DVD's producer Kevin Shirley spent hours replacing cymbal and drum hits one-by-one. After publicly airing his financial disagreements with the band and criticizing the quality of the recording, he was subjected to threats and insults from people associated with the band. (Full article...)

Recently featured:

July 12

Flowers of Hypericum sechmenii

Hypericum sechmenii (Seçmen's St John's wort) is a rare species of flowering plant in the St John's wort family that is found in Eskişehir Province of central Turkey. It was first described and assigned to the genus Hypericum in 2009, and was later placed into the section Adenosepalum. H. sechmenii is a perennial herb that grows 3–6 centimeters (1–2 inches) tall and blooms in June and July. The stems of the plant are smooth and lack hairs, while the leaves are leathery and lack leafstalks. Its flowers are arranged in corymbs, and each has five bright yellow petals. Similar species to Hypericum sechmenii are H. huber-morathii, H. minutum, and H. thymopsis. Found among limestone rocks, H. sechmenii has an estimated distribution of less than 10 square kilometers, with fewer than 250 surviving plants. Despite containing druse crystals and toxic chemicals that may deter herbivory, the species is threatened by overgrazing, climate change, and habitat loss. (Full article...)

Recently featured:

July 13

At Asine in 1922

Alan Wace (13 July 1879 – 9 November 1957) was an English archaeologist who served as director of the British School at Athens between 1914 and 1923. He excavated widely in Thessaly, Laconia and Egypt and at the Bronze Age site of Mycenae in Greece. Along with Carl Blegen, Wace argued against the established scholarly view that Minoan Crete had dominated mainland Greek culture during the Bronze Age. His excavations at Mycenae in the early 1920s established a chronology for the site's domed tombs that largely proved his theory correct. Wace served as the Laurence Professor of Classical Archaeology at Cambridge University between 1934 and 1944, and ended his career at Alexandria's Farouk I University. During both world wars, he worked for the British intelligence services, including as a section head for MI6 during the Second World War. His daughter, Lisa French, also became an archaeologist and excavated at Mycenae. (Full article...)

July 14

Greece celebrating their win

The UEFA Euro 2004 final was the final match of Euro 2004, the 12th European Championship, organised by UEFA for the senior men's national teams of its member associations. The match was played at the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon, Portugal, and contested by Portugal and Greece. The two defences ensured that goal-scoring opportunities were limited, and the score was 0–0 at half-time. Greece scored the only goal of the match after 57 minutes when Angelos Basinas took a corner kick to Angelos Charisteas, who sent a header past goalkeeper Ricardo. Several pundits labelled Greece's tournament win the greatest upset in the history of the European Championship, with their pre-tournament bookmaker odds at 150–1. Greece subsequently failed to qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup and did not successfully defend their European Championship in 2008. Portugal eventually won the European Championship in 2016. (Full article...)

Recently featured:

July 15

Jacques Offenbach (1819–1880) was a German-born French composer, cellist and impresario. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s to the 1870s, and his uncompleted opera The Tales of Hoffmann. Beginning as a cellist and conductor, Offenbach first wrote small-scale one-act pieces due to theatricial licensing laws. These eased by 1858 when he premiered his first full-length operetta, Orphée aux enfers. La belle Hélène (1864) and other successes followed. The risqué humour (often about sexual intrigue) and gentle satire in these pieces, together with his facility for melody, made them internationally known, and he was a powerful influence on later operetta and musical theatre composers. His best-known works were continually revived during the 20th century, and many of his operettas continue to be staged in the 21st. The Tales of Hoffmann remains part of the standard opera repertory. (Full article...)

July 16

Automatic tube loader of B Reactor at the Hanford Engineer Works

The Hanford Engineer Works (HEW) was a nuclear production complex in Benton County, Washington, established in 1943 as part of the Manhattan Project during World War II. Plutonium manufactured at the HEW was used in the atomic bomb detonated in the Trinity test on 16 July 1945, and the Fat Man bomb used in the bombing of Nagasaki on 9 August 1945. DuPont was the prime contractor for its design, construction and operation. The land acquisition was one of the largest in US history. Construction commenced in March 1943, and the construction workforce reached a peak of nearly 45,000 workers in June 1944. B Reactor, the world's first full-scale plutonium production nuclear reactor, went critical in September 1944, followed by D and F reactors in December 1944 and February 1945 respectively. The HEW suffered an outage on 10 March 1945 due to a Japanese balloon bomb. The total cost of the HEW up to December 1946 was over $348 million (equivalent to $4.1 billion in 2023). (Full article...)

Recently featured:

July 17

Cora Agnes Benneson (1851–1919) was an American attorney, lecturer, and writer. She was one of the first women to practice law in New England. Benneson was raised in Quincy, Illinois, to parents involved in local politics, religious organizing, and philanthropy; her parents regularly invited prominent guests to their home, including the writers and philosophers Amos Bronson Alcott and Ralph Waldo Emerson. Benneson began her university studies in 1875 at the University of Michigan, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1878, a Bachelor of Laws in 1880, and a Master of Arts in 1883. After earning her master's degree, she was admitted to the bars of Illinois and Michigan. (Full article...)

Recently featured:

July 18

John Glenn (1921–2016) was a United States Marine Corps aviator, engineer, astronaut, and politician. Before joining NASA, Glenn was a distinguished fighter pilot in World War II, China and Korea. In 1957, he made the first supersonic transcontinental flight across the United States. His on-board camera took the first continuous, panoramic photograph of the United States. He was one of the Mercury Seven, military test pilots selected in 1959 by NASA as the nation's first astronauts. On February 20, 1962, Glenn flew the Friendship 7 mission, becoming the first American to orbit the Earth, and the fifth person and third American in space. Following his retirement from NASA, he served from 1974 to 1999 as a Democratic U.S. Senator from Ohio. In 1998, Glenn flew on the Discovery space shuttle's STS-95 mission, making him the oldest person to fly in space and the only person to fly in both the Mercury and Space Shuttle programs. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012. (Full article...)

July 19

Portrait of John D. Whitney

John D. Whitney (1850–1917) was an American Catholic priest and Jesuit who was the president of Georgetown University from 1898 to 1901. Born in Massachusetts, he joined the United States Navy at the age of sixteen, where he acquired a book that had fallen overboard, which began his conversion to Catholicism. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1872 and spent the next twenty-five years studying and teaching mathematics at Jesuit institutions in Canada, England, Ireland, and around the United States. He became the vice president of Spring Hill College in Alabama before becoming the president of Georgetown University. He oversaw the completion of Gaston Hall, construction of the entrances to Healy Hall, and the establishment of Georgetown University Hospital and what would become the School of Dentistry. Afterwards, Whitney became the treasurer of Boston College and then engaged in pastoral work in Philadelphia, Brooklyn, and Baltimore, where he became the prefect of St. Ignatius Church. (Full article...)

July 20

The featured article for this day has not yet been chosen. The final selection is made by the TFA coordinators (Wehwalt, Dank and Gog the Mild).